Fine Wine Confidential Podcast Fred Reno

Episode # 3 found me in my studio interviewing the owner of Fifty-Third Winery & Vineyard Dave Drillock and his winemaker Chelsey Blevins who is quickly being recognized as a young rising star in the Virginia wine industry. 

Fifty-Third Winery & Vineyard produces an outstanding Norton along with a wide range of wines from both vinifera and hybrid grapes.  They are my favorite what I call off the radar winery here in the Old Dominion. But that is changing rapidly as a result of the steady leadership Dave Drillock provides and the high-quality wines that Chelsey crafts.

Fifty-Third is one of the upcoming stars in the Virginia growing constellation. A wine that should be on everyone's list who appreciates wine quality and the unique flavor characteristics that the best Virginia wines have to offer.  
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Arterra Winery owned by Founder & winegrower Jason Murray believes in producing wine that is reflective of the grape from which it is grown. Thus, he uses only native yeasts, neutral barrels, and screw caps for bottle enclosure. He feels that when you have a bottle of Arterra you will taste exactly what the grape gave him that vintage and nothing else. After 20 years of growing grapes in Fauquier County in Northern Virginia he is guided by the philosophy that if you plant the grape vine in the best site in the vineyard and give the grape the attention and care it deserves it will reward you with a wine that is a clean and a pure expression of his vineyard and the grape itself. 

Jason is an introspective and deep-thinking farmer with over 20 years' experience growing wine grapes in Fauquier County and continues to strive to produce wine that speaks of the terroir from which it is grown.   

He has a special affinity for growing and producing Tannat and Petit Verdot. From what I have tasted he is right at the top here in Virginia with those varietals. Along the way he became intrigued by the Norton Grape and is becoming quickly a leader in producing some of the most interesting and compelling Norton wines I have had.

Take a listen to the Audio or read the transcript to learn for yourself how Jason approaches producing Norton wines.  
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This Episode kicks off my new series of Podcasts focusing on wines produced from the Norton grape here in Virginia. In Episode #1 I recorded a conversation between the judges at the Homestead Norton Cup Challenge the weekend of November 3rd & 4th, 2023. It was during the lunch break before the judges finished judging the Final Four Norton wines that had made it into the final round that morning. It is an interesting insight into their thoughts.

I especially enjoyed the conversation at the end between Dr. Bruce Zoecklein Professor Emeritus of Enology at Virginia Tech and Todd Kliman the author of the book Wild Vine which details the history of Norton and its origin dating back to 1823 and Dr. Daniel Norton.
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Episode # 2 features Jennifer McCloud the Founder & Owner of Chrysalis Vineyards at the Ag District in Middleburg, Virginia. Along with producing some of the finest Viognier and Albarino in the country she is the proud owner of the largest single vineyard planting of Norton in the world. It makes up over 40 acres of the 70 acres of vineyard land she farms. 

Chrysalis was founded in 1998. and in addition to producing estate wines, she also has 10 Dairy Cows at the property from which they produce top-quality cheeses to compliment her wines and the food that is available for sale and enjoyment at the Ag District for its visitors and the public at large. Check out the cheeses along with the wines. 
Jake Blodinger the winemaker at Chrysalis, who joined the operation in 2019 is also part of this interview and brings a unique perspective to the conversation.

Because Chrysalis produces several different styles of Norton in both flavor profile and aging ability there is a Norton wine for every occasion whether the wine is to cellar and age or to enjoy today. 

The Episode is very informative and will give you, the listener, a deeper understanding of what Norton is all about.
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In this Episode I interview my friend Scott Elliff the Founder & Owner of DuCard Vineyard along with his winemaker Julien Durantie. It is an in-depth look at how one small Virginia Estate tackles the challenges of growing and producing world-quality wine from the Norton grape. For my part I say, "and they do produce world-quality wine". 

DuCard happens to be the first winery I ever tasted a bottle of Norton from in my now 45 years of wine industry experience. It opened my eyes to a world of wine I had never encountered which would start me on my journey to taste as many wines produced from Norton and learn exactly what this wine was all about. What I discovered was a rich storied history that dates back to the early 1800's in Richmond, Virginia and Dr. Norborne Norton who is credited with the first propagation of this Wild Grape. Thus the book the "Wild Vine" by Todd Kliman would eventually come to my attention and now serves as the best reference you can find about Norton. 

All of this as a result of a chance purchase of DuCard Norton by my wife at a farmer's market here in Charlottesville. Thank you Scott. 
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Michael Heny spent close to 20 years in winemaking at Horton Cellars before taking the position as winemaker at Michael Shaps Wineworks in 2019. As a result of his many years working with Dennis Horton, who was the person responsible for re-introducing Norton back to Virginia, he has a great deal of knowledge regarding the challenges that Norton can pose both in the vineyard and the cellar.

Michael addresses those and brings a different perspective to the dialogue about Norton wines. He also spent the early part of his wine career working with Archie Smith at Meredyth Vineyards. Archie was an early pioneer in Virginia wine growing starting in 1975 and become a well-known legend today. Michael also spent time working for one of the top retail wine merchants in Washington D.C. before taking the position at Horton. This gave him an appreciation for wine from the consumer side of the equation.

I always learn something new when I speak with Michael. This is an intriguing interview.  
Listen to it above or read the transcript attached.  
Thanks for being a listener to the Fine Wine Confidential Podcast. For more information go to www.finewineconfidential.com